Democrats Are Going On About The House And Senate ‘Popular Vote.’ Here’s Why That’s Dumb. By Ashe Schow.

Shortly after most races were called in the midterms Tuesday night, … Democrats received … 40,558,262 votes, or 55.4% of the vote, while Republicans only received 31,490,026 votes, or 43%. …

David French over at National Review writes how Democrats are “not entitled” to more House seats because they won more votes nationally.

“If a progressive wins 80-20 in an urban district, and a different progressive loses 60-40 in an exurban district, the Democrats are not entitled to both seats because they have more total votes,” French wrote.

Further, although gerrymandering (which both parties do when given the option) does play a role in the “popular vote,” the bigger problem for progressives, as both French and Alec MacGillis at The New York Times note, is that Democrats cluster in big cities.

Complaining about the Senate popular vote is even more asinine in 2018. Democrats had far more senators up for re-election than Republicans, so naturally, there were going to be more Democrat votes even if Republicans gained some seats. …

Democrats also won most of the seats they had to defend, which, as Blake wrote, equates to 22 of the 35 seats. This means they won 63% of the seats, while only winning 55% of the “popular vote.” Unfairness? Of course not. …

California also has an odd voting system that allows the top two vote-getters in the primary, regardless of party, to compete in the general election. This year, two Democrats won that honor, so no Republicans were going to get votes in our country’s most populous state.

via Tip of the Spear